How I work
Your documents are prepared and checked in writing before I read them.
The same written checks run on every service, built from my years inside test houses and certification bodies. I make the judgement calls and sign off everything that leaves Trace.
Trace Core
My experience, written down as checks.
Ten of my eleven years in PPE were inside UK test houses and certification bodies. I call these written checks Trace Core.
The requirements
What each certification body asks for, by product and by how it is being certified.
The written checks
Chosen for your product and the body assessing it, and run on every document set and product page.
Reviewed feedback
Assessor comments from past submissions, reviewed before any of them becomes a check.
Your product information, commercial details, test reports and certificates stay with your job. Only reviewed lessons that apply more widely are kept.
How a document set is prepared
Four passes before anything leaves Trace.
Your document set is prepared and checked, then I review it before release. The panels on the right are an illustrative example, not a client's file.
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Pass 1 of 4 · Checks
Preparation pass
The set is built from your product information and evidence, with questions raised where information is missing.
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Pass 2 of 4 · Checks
Evidence and consistency check
Checks the evidence behind each statement, finds omissions and checks that the documents agree with each other.
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Pass 3 of 4 · Checks
Review of outstanding questions
Checks that every request for missing information and every review comment has been answered before the set reaches me.
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Pass 4 of 4 · Glen signs off
Final release
I read the work, make the technical judgement calls and release it to you. Release means it leaves Trace; the Declaration of Conformity is still signed by the manufacturer, and the certificate is still the certification body's decision.
Why not by hand?
“The checks now do what I used to do by hand. My time goes on the judgement calls.”
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75% less preparation time
My estimate, from assessing and preparing technical files, compared with preparing the documents by hand.
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I still review the work
Assessing a file properly takes hours. Writing it properly takes longer. I read the finished work and make the calls.
The line
Will the checks ever sign off on their own? No.
The checks prepare and check. I make the technical judgement calls and approve what leaves Trace. They cannot certify a product or invent missing evidence.